Recognise history of ‘Mother and Baby Home’ in Kildare — Cllr’s appeal
A councillor representing the Athy Municipal District (MD) has renewed her call for Kildare County Council to formally recognise the past of a property which essentially functioned as a Mother and Baby Home.
Labour Party Cllr Aoife Breslin made the appeal at the latest MD meeting, which took place on Monday, September 21 last.
Near the end of this meeting, Cllr Breslin motioned for Kildare County Council , along with ‘other relevant agencies’, to acknowledge, ‘in an appropriate manner’, the mothers and babies buried at St Mary's Cemetery, Athy’.
Her motion was seconded by Fianna Fáil Cllr Veralouise Behan.
Elaborating further on her motion, Cllr Breslin told Kildare County Council that a former Mother and Baby Home was situated on the premises of the County Home site in Athy, which is now St Vincent’s Hospital (It should be noted that back in 2021, the Leinster Leader clarified that while there were no official Mother and Baby Homes in Kildare, the County Home in Athy did house unmarried mothers and their children).
Cllr Breslin also told Kildare County Council that she has raised the matter before, and added that the specific site should serve as a reminder to remember the ‘trauma’ suffered by those who were subjected to Mother and Baby Homes.
She explained: “This site is part of a sad and shameful historical period of Ireland… and it wasn’t that long ago [that it happened].”
Cllr Breslin also called out the Catholic Church’s management of said facilities: “The people who ran these homes claimed that they were Christians… they were far from [being] Christian.”
She concluded: “I would like to see it done in the near future.”
Kildare County Council replied to Cllr Breslin’s motion via a report it presented at the meeting.
It read as follows: “Kildare County Council is predisposed to the project of commemoration, as denoted in the motion.
“A community based voluntary body would be best placed to progress matters.”
Kildare County Council also told Cllr Breslin: “Clarification is being sought on the pertinent funding provision.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.